I am the Thread Killer

[oldivor]

 

Originally posted by Zamfir

Nah, I'm funnier and less of a geek online.

Seriously, I'd like to make it and knock back some brews with you. But life is too complicated/uncertain right now to forecast jack.

 

THat's funny because I'm less funny and more geekier.

Yar. I know the feeling. I've have times were I didn't know if I'd be a used car sales man or a EE.

[Perfessor]

Were you a good girl this year?

[yubetyerboots]

 

Originally posted by Perfessor

Were you a good girl this year?

 

Merry Christmas to you too, Bassboy!

I hope I was good, I know I worked at it! You on the otherhand.......

[Perfessor]

Ahhh....spring........

[yubetyerboots]

 

Originally posted by Perfessor

Ahhh....spring........

 

[oldivor]

Nothing like jeans and a nice shirt.

[Zamfir]

Man, I just barely missed my goal of a 4.0 for the semester due to two vapid, huge-waste-o'-time classes.

Then again, I was taking 19 credits, but there are a couple of grad student graders who need to be slapped around some for not taking their job seriously. Hell, Dr. Zamfir should be grading *them*.

Anyway.

I just found out about two job possibilities with my friend's NGO. I might not go back to school this spring...

[oldivor]

 

Originally posted by Zamfir

Man, I just barely missed my goal of a 4.0 for the semester due to two vapid, huge-waste-o'-time classes.

Then again, I was taking 19 credits, but there are a couple of grad student graders who need to be slapped around some for not taking their job seriously. Hell, Dr. Zamfir should be grading *them*.

Anyway.

I just found out about two job possibilities with my friend's NGO. I might not go back to school this spring...

 

4.0 I made one A, three Bs and one C, but the C was due to a prof who shouldn't really be teaching....

19, damn man. You're really pushing yourself. Of course you'll get your degrade sooner too. Yeah, I hate when over people screw things up for you. I MUCH rather work alone then with a group.

hhmmm I dunno know Zamfir, part of me says finsih the degree so that way you'll have it in the future and the other side says screw it, take the job. The thing about staying in college is that it can offer up a lot jobs.

[Zamfir]

 

Originally posted by oldivor

4.0 I made one A, three Bs and one C, but the C was due to a prof who shouldn't really be teaching....

19, damn man. You're really pushing yourself. Of course you'll get your degrade sooner too. Yeah, I hate when over people screw things up for you. I MUCH rather work alone then with a group.

hhmmm I dunno know Zamfir, part of me says finsih the degree so that way you'll have it in the future and the other side says screw it, take the job. The thing about staying in college is that it can offer up a lot jobs.

 

Don't take it too seriously -- I purposely set the bar as high as I could, just to see if I could achieve that concrete goal after a {censored}load of years at school (and slacking a bit too much in college).

I did 19 because I had to. I would vastly have preferred to take 16, but I had to take this bonehead Environmental Sciences 101 class to keep state regulations happy. And because it's a memorization fest (four multiple guess exams, drop one of the first three, plus another bogus writing assignment) as opposed to writing/analysis where I'm stronger, that's why I ended up with an A-. Oh well...

Part of me says to finish the degree, too, and get into a career with relative stability (teachers are always in demand... ) as well summers to do other things to add income or pursue other projects. But that's another large chunk of change for another three semesters, and graduating when I'm pushing 38. And I'm still debating whether I love teaching enough to put up with the really long hours and stress levels.

These other jobs are not a sure thing (competitive applications involved). One is a little less attractive than the other, but for both, I'd have a boss (my friend) who really appreciates my writing and research. And one of them would land me in Montenegro for two years (basically, helping a US retired colonel advise on democratic reform of the armed forces for eventual NATO membership), while the other would let me take a crack at adding revenue to the organization by applying for practical grant research, some of which I could do myself. In short, making a concrete difference for life / security for people in the Balkan countries I'm interested in, and without having to coax high school kids to behave every day of the week.

I have hard thinking to do before my tuition bill due date.

[oldivor]

 

Originally posted by Zamfir

Don't take it too seriously -- I purposely set the bar as high as I could, just to see if I could achieve that concrete goal after a {censored}load of years at school (and slacking a bit too much in college).

I did 19 because I had to. I would vastly have preferred to take 16, but I had to take this bonehead Environmental Sciences 101 class to keep state regulations happy. And because it's a memorization fest (four multiple guess exams, drop one of the first three, plus another bogus writing assignment) as opposed to writing/analysis where I'm stronger, that's why I ended up with an A-. Oh well...

Part of me says to finish the degree, too, and get into a career with relative stability (teachers are always in demand... ) as well summers to do other things to add income or pursue other projects. But that's another large chunk of change for another three semesters, and graduating when I'm pushing 38. And I'm still debating whether I love teaching enough to put up with the really long hours and stress levels.

These other jobs are not a sure thing (competitive applications involved). One is a little less attractive than the other, but for both, I'd have a boss (my friend) who really appreciates my writing and research. And one of them would land me in Montenegro for two years (basically, helping a US retired colonel advise on democratic reform of the armed forces for eventual NATO membership), while the other would let me take a crack at adding revenue to the organization by applying for practical grant research, some of which I could do myself. In short, making a concrete difference for life / security for people in the Balkan countries I'm interested in, and without having to coax high school kids to behave every day of the week.

I have hard thinking to do before my tuition bill due date.

 

You have a point there, you can't aim too high.

Ugh, yeah I know how you feel. I have to take three liberal studies myself. I mean WTF does an EE need to know about classical music or painting to do his job? That reeks too about having all that work for a class you didn't even want to take. I hate when they give you a ton of work though. Rather then learning it you just do the homework.

You have some good points. You have three more semesters of work, but then you'd have a degree that you can almost always be hired in. Then with teaching(would you be teaching college or grade school) you'd have a TON of jobs you could done all over the country and the world. Then again get a couple of bad apple student and you're live can worse but if you're teaching college you can tell the {censored}ty stuck up ones tough luck.

Hhhmmm what would you do after that two year job? Would you just lose your job or would maybe some one hire after working with them. Those jobs both seem like nice ones but how is the job security? I know with teaching you'd almost always have a job you could go to.

I dunno man, either way you go I don't think you'd do too bad. It just depends on what you want I guess.

[Zamfir]

 

Originally posted by oldivor

You have a point there, you can't aim too high.

Ugh, yeah I know how you feel. I have to take three liberal studies myself. I mean WTF does an EE need to know about classical music or painting to do his job? That reeks too about having all that work for a class you didn't even want to take. I hate when they give you a ton of work though. Rather then learning it you just do the homework.

You have some good points. You have three more semesters of work, but then you'd have a degree that you can almost always be hired in. Then with teaching(would you be teaching college or grade school) you'd have a TON of jobs you could done all over the country and the world. Then again get a couple of bad apple student and you're live can worse but if you're teaching college you can tell the {censored}ty stuck up ones tough luck.

Hhhmmm what would you do after that two year job? Would you just lose your job or would maybe some one hire after working with them. Those jobs both seem like nice ones but how is the job security? I know with teaching you'd almost always have a job you could go to.

I dunno man, either way you go I don't think you'd do too bad. It just depends on what you want I guess.

 

Setting the bar that high can be a really bad thing, sometimes, for some people trying to build up their confidence after a difficult experience. Some are better off with more incremental bar-raising. I wouldn't be setting it that high if I didn't have a good sense of past performance and capabilities.

But I still believe in the line from Thoreau: "In the long run, men only hit what they aim at. Therefore, though they should fail immediately, they had better aim high."

I think they might be asking you take art or music in order to broaden out the EE degree with at least minimal exposure to a liberal arts education. Makes you a more interesting/more diverse person, as well as a more informed citizen upon graduation. We hope. Just choose the courses that are most interesting to you to satisfy those requirements. Everything has a time and opportunity cost...

Yeah, teaching secondary (high school) level would free me up immensely in terms of job locations (almost anywhere, in the US, or overseas). Believe me, I think about that one hard, as well as a wider market.

The other jobs, like the two year Montenegro one, are part of a growing NGO (my friend's organization; he runs the thing). As he put it the other day: "Getting into NATO, let alone the EU, is a minimum of ten years of work" (meaning, grants we can apply for to advise the reform process). "And Kosovo will be a black hole for at least two generations. That's 20 years of guaranteed opportunity." Just because that one Montenegro grant might finish in two years, does not mean that we will not be simultaneously applying to others for the rest of the NATO accession period. That office they'll be opening in Podgorica next month needs to have a longer time horizon, just like the country it is in, and we'll be working to make it self-sustaining.

He has another guy working for him (with whom I might work in DC) who is a grant-writing machine, and has survived with his wife on grant proposals for 20 years.

I think we'll be OK. It's riskier, no doubt, but the demand will still be there (our volume has apparently really taken off just in the last 9 - 12 mos.), and the work will shift to new challenges, including the creativity of thinking up new goals/areas for what we can do. That's one of the really attractive things about it. It's basically a small enterprise, only one whose income stream depends on grants from foundations and governments, and we get to decide our own fate. Hard to beat that.

But first I gotta apply and win the job(s).

Though it does mean giving up a little security, and the rewards of shaping the lives of students. Like I said, I gotta think hard.

[Soulgolem]

Should I read all pages to understand what this is all about ?

[Zamfir]

 

Originally posted by Soulgolem

Should I read all pages to understand what this is all about ?

 

Reading some of it might be funny, even occasionally enlightening, but I bet you can come up with better uses of your time that also do not involve going insane.

[oldivor]

 

Originally posted by Zamfir

Setting the bar that high can be a really bad thing, sometimes, for some people trying to build up their confidence after a difficult experience. Some are better off with more incremental bar-raising. I wouldn't be setting it that high if I didn't have a good sense of past performance and capabilities.

But I still believe in the line from Thoreau: "In the long run, men only hit what they aim at. Therefore, though they should fail immediately, they had better aim high."

I think they might be asking you take art or music in order to broaden out the EE degree with at least minimal exposure to a liberal arts education. Makes you a more interesting/more diverse person, as well as a more informed citizen upon graduation. We hope. Just choose the courses that are most interesting to you to satisfy those requirements. Everything has a time and opportunity cost...

Yeah, teaching secondary (high school) level would free me up immensely in terms of job locations (almost anywhere, in the US, or overseas). Believe me, I think about that one hard, as well as a wider market.

The other jobs, like the two year Montenegro one, are part of a growing NGO (my friend's organization; he runs the thing). As he put it the other day: "Getting into NATO, let alone the EU, is a minimum of ten years of work" (meaning, grants we can apply for to advise the reform process). "And Kosovo will be a black hole for at least two generations. That's 20 years of guaranteed opportunity." Just because that one Montenegro grant might finish in two years, does not mean that we will not be simultaneously applying to others for the rest of the NATO accession period. That office they'll be opening in Podgorica next month needs to have a longer time horizon, just like the country it is in, and we'll be working to make it self-sustaining.

He has another guy working for him (with whom I might work in DC) who is a grant-writing machine, and has survived with his wife on grant proposals for 20 years.

I think we'll be OK. It's riskier, no doubt, but the demand will still be there (our volume has apparently really taken off just in the last 9 - 12 mos.), and the work will shift to new challenges, including the creativity of thinking up new goals/areas for what we can do. That's one of the really attractive things about it. It's basically a small enterprise, only one whose income stream depends on grants from foundations and governments, and we get to decide our own fate. Hard to beat that.

But first I gotta apply and win the job(s).

Though it does mean giving up a little security, and the rewards of shaping the lives of students. Like I said, I gotta think hard.

 

True, I think that when people set the bar high they need to realize that the first time they most likely won't make it. It takes time.

Screw that, I'm a narrow mind SOB.

Really though, I can see why they do it but I don't think they should. I tihnk they should encourage but not force. For example I'm taking Russian this semester. Now mind you this doesn't fill any of the liberal studies requirements but I'm taking it anyway because I want to.

Yeah, in just about every city there's a job opening for a high school teacher. You could have NO problems finding a job.

aahhh I see. You wouldn't be out of a job by any means when the two years came to an end. Yeah, I'd say that'd last you a while especially because you have a friend there. So you'd have a fairly good job security at that job. It seems like you could be a lot of good work there.

Wow that's a long time. But then again with grants when the last one runs out there's never a guaranty.

True. How big is this company?

After what you posted I can really see how you'd be in between the two.

[oldivor]

 

Originally posted by Zamfir

Reading some of it might be funny, even occasionally enlightening, but I bet you can come up with better uses of your time that also do not involve going insane.

 

+1

one time I read 1000 post when it got cut off every so often but I've never think of reading it all now.

[Zamfir]

Nope, no guarantees in the NGO world, let alone grant-dependent ones. But so long as the rest of the international state system and international economic system remain intact, I think there will be some demand.

My friend's NGO is pretty small at the moment (about four full-time people I think, plus a few more part-timers like me, not including contractors), but looking to expand. They just bought a small office space in a DC townhouse, are adding the office in Montenegro, and I wouldn't be surprised if the main office in Belgrade is about to add people. A lot of our work, though, is done by contractors (we win the grant, we find people to do parts of each grant). However, the volume of work is increasing dramatically, so that's why people like me may be coming on board full-time.

At some point, I gotta get on board or wonder what might have been in terms of getting back to a region I really love.

And -- kudos to you for learning Russian on your own interest! It's a little tougher than some languages, but once you understand the alphabet, the case system, and verb aspect, you understand a lot of the architecture of Slavic languages.

Grammar in the classroom only gets you so far, though...consider a summer visit, in a language program or other opportunity...?

(Assuming you like adventures/exploration and don't mind adventures in places where the standard of living is not what we're used to. )

[oldivor]

 

Originally posted by Zamfir

Nope, no guarantees in the NGO world, let alone grant-dependent ones. But so long as the rest of the international state system and international economic system remain intact, I think there will be some demand.

My friend's NGO is pretty small at the moment (about four full-time people I think, plus a few more part-timers like me, not including contractors), but looking to expand. They just bought a small office space in a DC townhouse, are adding the office in Montenegro, and I wouldn't be surprised if the main office in Belgrade is about to add people. A lot of our work, though, is done by contractors (we win the grant, we find people to do parts of each grant). However, the volume of work is increasing dramatically, so that's why people like me may be coming on board full-time.

At some point, I gotta get on board or wonder what might have been in terms of getting back to a region I really love.

And -- kudos to you for learning Russian on your own interest! It's a little tougher than some languages, but once you understand the alphabet, the case system, and verb aspect, you understand a lot of the architecture of Slavic languages.

Grammar in the classroom only gets you so far, though...consider a summer visit, in a language program or other opportunity...?

(Assuming you like adventures/exploration and don't mind adventures in places where the standard of living is not what we're used to. )

 

Yeah, the main thing I think is depression. I think if a big one comes if might effect how many grants there are, local(USA) and global(UN and UE).

Ok, so not a big company at all. IMO small companies are better due to a personal feel but do have their downsides also. So basically you guys are the nervous system of the thing. Planning and moving it along so to speak. Sounds like it's growing fast though.

Which office would you working in? And which office would you want to be working in?

Yeah, I've always wanted to learn Russian. I know soem French but it's very really clicked in a sense. I like the language and every thing but for some reason it's never grabbed me and said learn me. I'm hoping Russian will be different because for some reason I've always wanted to learn it. Pus like you said it's also a stepping stone to other languages. One day I'd also like to learn Czech. Most likely due to fact I'm part Czech I guess.

True me, I wouldn't mind going to Russian at ALL. I'm also have been places where the standard of living is different then my own. I've been to the USA's own 3rd world country section, the Indian Rezs.

[Perfessor]

Hmmmmmmmm

[yubetyerboots]

 

Originally posted by Perfessor

Hmmmmmmmm

 

[Zamfir]

 

Originally posted by oldivor

Yeah, the main thing I think is depression. I think if a big one comes if might effect how many grants there are, local(USA) and global(UN and UE).

Ok, so not a big company at all. IMO small companies are better due to a personal feel but do have their downsides also. So basically you guys are the nervous system of the thing. Planning and moving it along so to speak. Sounds like it's growing fast though.

Which office would you working in? And which office would you want to be working in?

Yeah, I've always wanted to learn Russian. I know soem French but it's very really clicked in a sense. I like the language and every thing but for some reason it's never grabbed me and said learn me. I'm hoping Russian will be different because for some reason I've always wanted to learn it. Pus like you said it's also a stepping stone to other languages. One day I'd also like to learn Czech. Most likely due to fact I'm part Czech I guess.

True me, I wouldn't mind going to Russian at ALL. I'm also have been places where the standard of living is different then my own. I've been to the USA's own 3rd world country section, the Indian Rezs.

 

Yeah, we are a "boutique" NGO as my friend put it some time ago. We're not trying to be one of the massive big ones, just grow to a sufficient size and substantial work volume without losing focus. There's certainly risk involved, but that's what makes it fun. If anything, I sometimes worry about growing too fast. But I think we're finally entering that critical mass stage. Income has really shot up in the last year (I don't know the exact numbers, just the general description).

I'd work in any of the offices. Preferably in Belgrade or in Podgorica, but DC is just fine. I needed to network there anyway. Ideally - if I could open another office in Bucharest or Cluj...that would be dandy.

I had forgotten you were Czech! Great! Better start working on that ' ř '. Very few Americans can get it. Russian will help, but boy, do you Western Slavs have to complicate things...

Anyway. To improve your aural comprehension, try:

www.bbc.co.uk/russian/

And click on the RealPlayer news thingy.

It'll sound like gobbledygook for a few weeks, but eventually your ear will adjust and begin to hear spaces and particular words. Language is like music -- you gotta put in the hours of focused practice at component skills (listening, reading, speaking/production, ...writing, if you care to do that...)

But I'd start small ...15 minutes of listening per day is enough, as long as it's regular.

Just about every morning at breakfast, when I'm not in school, I prop up my dictionary in a stand and translate 3-6 more paragraphs from BBC Russian news stories I've printed out.

[el_duderino676]

A civilized discussion in the TK? What is this world coming to?

[oldivor]

 

Originally posted by Zamfir

Yeah, we are a "boutique" NGO as my friend put it some time ago. We're not trying to be one of the massive big ones, just grow to a sufficient size and substantial work volume without losing focus. There's certainly risk involved, but that's what makes it fun. If anything, I sometimes worry about growing too fast. But I think we're finally entering that critical mass stage. Income has really shot up in the last year (I don't know the exact numbers, just the general description).

I'd work in any of the offices. Preferably in Belgrade or in Podgorica, but DC is just fine. I needed to network there anyway. Ideally - if I could open another office in Bucharest or Cluj...that would be dandy.

I had forgotten you were Czech! Great! Better start working on that ' ř '. Very few Americans can get it. Russian will help, but boy, do you Western Slavs have to complicate things...

Anyway. To improve your aural comprehension, try:

www.bbc.co.uk/russian/

And click on the RealPlayer news thingy.

It'll sound like gobbledygook for a few weeks, but eventually your ear will adjust and begin to hear spaces and particular words. Language is like music -- you gotta put in the hours of focused practice at component skills (listening, reading, speaking/production, ...writing, if you care to do that...)

But I'd start small ...15 minutes of listening per day is enough, as long as it's regular.

Just about every morning at breakfast, when I'm not in school, I prop up my dictionary in a stand and translate 3-6 more paragraphs from BBC Russian news stories I've printed out.

 

Yeah, I can understand about the focus thing though. I think a lot of companies and charities lose their focus because they grow so big and they just forget what they wanted to do in the beginning.

Network and then maybe get one closer to Romania eh? IIRC it's your wife from there? It would be pretty nice.

Yar yar, I have some Czech, Polish and Austrian blood in me. And sorry my ancestors had to complicate things.

Doing now.

I'll try to listen 15 minutes or more. I think this will help my ear get used to it though. Hopefully I'll get used to it fast. Because school starts before too long.

That's a great idea. Do you translate it orally or do you write it out? Because when I used to do french I yused to translate stuff all the time and writing all of it down took alot more time.

[oldivor]

 

Originally posted by el_duderino676

A civilized discussion in the TK? What is this world coming to?

 

Get out ya filthy hippie.

What's up man?

[el_duderino676]

 

Originally posted by oldivor

Get out ya filthy hippie.

What's up man?

 

Not a whole lto. I'm just sittin' here on the Group W bench, waiting for iTunes to download some albums that I bought, too bad that my connection is painfully slow.

How've you been?

[oldivor]

 

Originally posted by el_duderino676

Not a whole lto. I'm just sittin' here on the Group W bench, waiting for iTunes to download some albums that I bought, too bad that my connection is painfully slow.

How've you been?

 

Nice nice, and wtf is a group W bench?

yar, back on dail up?

Nothing too much, just chilling. I NEED to order my books.